Marian, we're thrilled to have met you and if that wasn't enough - we have your work up at Local! The work is SO good. So much depth and emotion in every single image and frame.
Tell us how you got started and what is it that allows you to get so much context in your images.
Hi Robert, I am delighted to meet you too and so pleased to be hanging in your shop. ;)
I have been walking around with a camera since age 9, when my Dad gave me my first camera. I took pictures of my family, my friends, my classmates, boyfriends, and everything else along the way. I have always had a passion for photography and a fascination with humanity. It was only recently that I understood that that is just who I am. Photography has been the backdrop of my entire life, although not my career. I had a 40 year career as a social worker so you see the connection. I think I was always a social worker too. I am an inveterate observer, i.e: voyeur. I guess that’s my context. I call myself a social worker with a camera. The camera is my voice.
You now shoot with an iPhone which is further proof for me photography is about being in the moment and having the ability to capture it. What differences have you noted in your approach with this device?
The iPhone changed everything about my photography, my perspective and my life. The major difference in my approach is that I shoot like a maniac. I shoot every single day. I shoot through the windshield of my car. No need to load film, no lenses and other equipment to schlep along; no worries about costs of film or developing, the ability to post process and share in the palm of my hand; the amazing apps available for editing my images, the availability of my device at all times (you noticed that I wear my phone, right?), and best of all, ideal for street photography and portraiture, (my favorite genres) where I can shoot and move on, with the shutter in silent mode, and no one is any the wiser. Plus, when I am noticed, people don’t take me seriously because, after all, it’s only a phone, not a real camera and everyone has a phone, right?
One of the things I immediately noted and loved was that you take the work seriously, but not yourself - which is one of my favorite personal attributes. How do you see yourself in this world where image has arguably never been so elevated in our consciousness?
This is a tough question. I have never been big on self-esteem and am fully aware of the multitudes of artists that are further advanced than I. If you look at the work of many of the other iPhoneographers you will see so much work that is simply stunning and far more sophisticated than mine. I try to judge my work by where I am and not against others. I keep trying to improve my skills but I also have a dedication to aesthetics and integrity. I am fully aware of how much I don’t know. I do enter gallery calls for art and am always kind of amazed and humbled when my work is accepted, so I know, somewhat objectively, that my works meets some kind of standard. (I also get rejections.)
Photography is a journey for the viewer and photographer. What has been your most compelling discovery since starting the process?
I think I am always amazed when people praise my work or my work is accepted into a prestigious gallery exhibition. It took a lot, initially, for me to submit my work for any review as I was so sure it would be found “not good enough”. This has been a refrain for me throughout my life; this issue of being “not good enough”. For whom? By whom? I try hard to steer clear of that concept and I think I am my worst critic.
As far as the viewer, I am constantly surprised by the comments that people make about my work, about how they see it and how it resonates with them. Sometimes their comments are not in alignment with my own concepts or mood. I love that!
If possible, can you identify one photo that you have taken but keep coming back to it for further introspection?
Maybe not one photo, but my images of Danny, a homeless young man, are possibly the most meaningful to me, and force me to keep asking why he is unable to make any change and why he effects me so. He touches my soul and sometimes in talking to him, I get teary-eyed. He means a great deal to me. I would like to do a book about him.
You live here in Montclair and I have heard you mention your love for the area. What is it about this town that further fuels your passion?
I worked in Montclair when I was just out of college. I had a job here that I loved and grew very fond of this town. Perhaps it was the cultural environment, the integrated ethnicities, the upbeat and forward thinking environment. I always thought that Montclair was the most urban of the suburbs and the most sophisticated, with so many artists, musicians, theater and TV people, living here. I married and raised my children in Livingston but after my divorce, I came right back to Montclair. I felt that it was the right fit for a single woman, with access to so many cultural activities, as well as the proximity to NYC. I felt that it was the only suburb that didn’t fold up the sidewalks at night, which is very funny, since I rarely go out at night.
What is your favorite coffee or tea beverage?
I am a serious coffee person. I mostly drink my coffee black although I also love cappuccino. I love iced coffee, sometimes with a scoop of ice-cream, and cold brew. Coffee and dark chocolate are my life’s blood.
